ENTERTAINMENT

MUSIC | MOVIES | TV | BOOKS | HUMOR

* Comments in RED reflect updated or added information.

MUSIC

Almost anything that sounds good to me, but I do have some favorite artists:

Sting, Peter Gabriel, Janet Jackson, The Police, Sarah McLachlan, Dave Matthews Band, Chante Moore, Toni Tony Tone, Genesis, Beatles, Beach Boys, The Pandanus Club, Hapa, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Ludwig von Beethoven, The Specials, Dance Hall Crashers, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, Herbie Hancock, Buckshot le Fonque and Branford Marsalis. Did I miss anyone? Oh yes, Can't Forget !TANG.

Peter Gabriel Concert update: It was a fantastic concert. Considering I also saw Janet Jackson at the same stadium, I can make an honest comparison – you can’t compare the two. Both were fantastic shows with Janet’s show embodying high energy and excitement. Peter Garbiel’s show not only was creative in the theatric sense, but with the open air, circular [“on the Round”] stage, there was an intimacy there that I though was unusual for a big name concert. I just wish I could have seen him again on his second pass at the Verizon Amphitheatre.

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MOVIES

Everything from silent to musicals, film noir to foreign, blockbusters to indies, and, especially, Sci-Fi!

To sum up my earlier statement here: Widescreen is best. With DVDs, MUST have commentary or deleted scenes. Having chapter search and interactive menus are NOT special features, thank you very much.

Favorite Films:

Amadeus, From Russia With Love, Drunken Master II, Ran, Henry V [Kenneth Branagh], Much Ado About Nothing, Chushingura [aka 47 Ronin, color version with Toshiro Mifune], Star Wars, Star Trek: First Contact, Batman, The Right Stuff, House Party, Animal House, The Fifth Element, The Maltese Falcon, The Thin Man [The Whole Series], The Godfather, Excalibur, Richard III [Ian McClellan]

UPDATE: I’ve decided to focus on a few movies, TV Shows and specials that have come to my attention since I originally made the previous list. While I still love all of those movies, there are a few that I’ve begun to REALLY dig:

Free Enterprise	Swingers for Start Trek fans, but not frighteningly geeky…well, maybe a bit dense with all of the Sci Fi references. BUT, it’s still a very good movie through and through!
Swingers	Great movie, great music and a lot of fun. Definitely a DVD MUST BUY b/c of commentaries!
High Fidelity	John Cusak movie: speaks to those around my generation about relationships – the good and the really bad. Solid movie, but not everyone will ‘get it’.
Grosse Pointe Blank	Yes, another John Cusak movie. It has a great quirkiness and charm, together with a kick-ass 80’s soundtrack that really sends me back, that lend itself to a very watchable movie about a professional assassin that goes to his 10^th year High School Reunion.
From the Earth to the Moon [HBO Mini-series]	Probably the best mini-series I’ve ever seen. 12 part look at America’s Space Program, from Mercury through the Apollo missions.
US Space Program related movies	Aside from the above mini-series, here are a few favorite movies that are about or revolve around the history of space exploration and the people who made it possible: Apollo 13, The Dish, The Right Stuff, October Sky
Sports Movies:	Not in any particular order: Eight Men Out, Bull Durham, Field of Dreams, Major League, Necessary Roughness, Any Given Sunday, The Replacements.
“Mess With Your Head” movies	There are quite a few, actually, but after seeing Vanilla Sky, I thought I would list the ones I liked the most [and would or have seen multiple times]: Identity [another John Cusak movie – I’m realizing that he’s made some really good movies]; The Others [Nicole Kidman]; The Sixth Sense [Bruce Willis]; Vanilla Sky [Tom Cruise]

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TELEVISION

My current TV watching schedule is not so scary anymore. I pretty much only watch a few shows, then scan cable for a few gems, like the History Channel’s Mail Call, and Showtime’s Penn & Teller’s Bullsh*t.:

Mon

Tues

Wed

Thur

Fri

Monday Night Football

[Seasonally, of course]

-nothing!

West Wing

Law & Order

Friends [for one more show!]

-nothing!

By the By, for Sat: College Football [or getting over a hangover…sometimes both]; Sun: NFL. Any questions?

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BOOKS

I am currently reading, or looking into the following books:

Calla of the Wolves – Book 5 of the Dark Tower Series, by Stephen King

Churchill, a Biography, by Roy Jenkins

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HUMOR

For those who don't know me too well, I have this addiction to humor. I make jokes ... poorly. I've been told my timing hasn't always been the best either. But I do enjoy a good laugh from the Slapstick [Three Stooges], the Theatric [Robin Williams], the Dry [Bob Newhart, Drew Carey and Bill Cosby], the Vaudeville [Milton Berle and The Marx Brothers], to the insanely silly British Humour of Monty Python's Flying Circus. Even the somewhat Bawdy humor in some Japanese programs are especially good. Strange, but good.

With the Cheers shows coming on DVD, I’ve stopped getting the video tapes and have purchased the 1^st Season, and am saving up to eventually get the 2^nd Season. Also, Northern Exposure was another favorite show that will be coming to DVD, with the 8 episode 1^st Season coming out in May of 2004.

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